the fiscal cliff averted. the deficit expected to grow by $4 trillion. and president obama headed back to his hawaiian vacation. contentious cliff talks had one leader telling off another in the crudest of terms. penn state fights back. the mummers are out in full force and some residents in colorado are enjoying the new legal pot day. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for wednesday, january 2nd, 2013. good morning, i'm bill karins. the house has finally given approval to the bill to undo the

effects of the fiscal cliff in the 11th hour last night. the house voted 257-167 in favor of the bill to stop the middle-class tax increases and spending cuts to domestic poll ramps. soon after president obama reacted to the compromise bill. >> under this law, more than 98% of americans and 97% of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up. millions of families will have continued to receive tax credits to help raise their kids and send them to college. companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research they do, the investments they make and the clean energy jobs that they create. and 2 million americans who are out of work but out there looking, pounding the pavement every day, are going to continue to receive unemployment benefits as long as they're actively looking for a job. i am very open to compromise. i agree with democrats and republicans that the aging

population and the rising cost of health care makes medicare the biggest contributor to our deficit. i believe we've got to find ways to reform that program without hurting seniors who count on it to survive. and i believe that there's further unnecessary spending in government that we can eliminate. but we can't simply cut our way to prosperity. i will not have another debate with this congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they've already racked up through the laws that they've passed. let me repeat. we can't not pay bills that we've already incurred. if congress refuses to give the united states government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic. the one thing that i think hopefully in the new year we'll focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama.

a little less brinksmanship. not scare the heck out of folks quite as much. >> well, the president doesn't want to scare us too much. nbc's tracie potts is live for us on capitol hill. tracie, it was a new year's day to remember. >> it was. this came a day late but just in time for the markets reopening this morning and just in time for many americans who were very concerned about their tax rates going up. that's an area that democrats gave him. couples who make $450,000 or more are going to have higher tax rates. you heard the president alluding to a tax fight. that's a fight that the congress has to deal with. john boehner the republican house speaker was able to gather 85 votes in favor of this bill. overwhelmingly passed in the senate.not as much, most republicans voted against it in the house. but in the end, they were able

to get it passed. and not mentioned as much but something that's going to impact a lot of paychecks. remember that 2% payroll tax cut we enjoyed in the past year? that's not a part of that bill. payroll taxes going up 2%. you will feel that in your check this month, bill. >> thanks, tracie. here's a recap of how it played owl just after the ball dropped 2:00 a.m., the senate passed the bill. no senator claims true victory. 30 minutes later, the president releases a statement praising the agreement. then around noon, vice president biden meets with the house democratic caucus and trying to sell his carefully constructed but same deal. but then we quickly learned that house republicans may be staging a revolt. eric cantor and his peers rallying for amendment. namely, they want to add $330

billion in spending cuts to the bill. take it to 5:00 p.m. yesterday. the house gop meets again. by now, the senate has warned them they will not entertain amendments. and sure enough, the gop opposition can't gather enough support to pass those amendments anyways. which brings us to late last night. just after 11:00 p.m., house members vote on the senate measure as is. they approve it 257-167 sending it to the president's desk. it's interesting to know that 16 democrats voted against the measure while 85 republicans voted for it. behind the scenes, the level of tension you can imagine between the party leaders extremely high evolving into nasty name-calling. harry reid had publicly said that speaker boehner was running a, quote, dictatorship in the house but this morning, politico is reporting on friday when the men saw one another some the lobby of the white house, they reportedly told reid to go blank

yourself. politico said that multiple sources said that boehner even repeated the nasty comment to reid and bragged about it later. boehner's office has not commented. secretary of state hillary clinton remains hospitalized for a blood clot behind her right ear. this type of blood clot is rare and can be very dangerous. nbc's chief medical correspondent robert bazell with more. >> reporter: the type of blood clot that struck mrs. clinton is rare. the clot is on the surface of the vein. the vein carries blood to the heart and lungs. the big danger is that the clot could grow larger causing blood to block up in the brain. that could cause a stroke. doctors prevent that with blood thinners. once the clot is discovered,

doctors say mrs. clinton would have gotten an i.v. drip with a blood thinner. the entire time, the doctors would be watching her closely, usually in the icu. you're observing the patient to make sure that they're stable. you want to make sure that they're not developing new symptoms. >> reporter: concussions have gotten attention lately as sports injuries among children but mrs. clinton's case say reminder that they can happen to anyone. whether the danger is a rare blood clot near the brain or bleeding inside the brain, anyone who gets a concussion should seek immediate care if they have any of these symptoms, bad headaches, bad speech. mrs. clinton reportedly has no neurological damage. the best indication is that the clot was caught in time to give her an excellent chance for a

full recovery. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. unfortunately, today is back to school and back to work for millions across the country. let me give you the forecast. the temperatures are the only stories. very quiet weather pattern. no school cancellations anywhere in the nation. kansas city, and northern new england having the coldest morning. windchills in negative numbers in maine. it's bitterly cold, but not a lot of nasty weather out there. showers in south carolina and a little activity along the texas coast but that is about it, just cold dry air dominates much of the country as we go throughout the day. and you can see that rain exiting areas, especially of north carolina during the morning. morning commute from raleigh, durham area, from the coastal areas, north carolina out to the outer banks. you'll have a little wet weather but that's about it. here's your forecast for this

wednesday. with 30s across the heartland in new england. a little snow flurry activity in minneapolis. that's a look at the national forecast. now, here's a look at the weather outside of your wind. >> well, areas like memphis, tennessee, have been very cold. i think we're going to hit the peak of it, though. i think we'll warm things up in the middle of the weekend. a lot of people are enjoying it in the middle of the nation. it's been very cold. well, sandy hook students prepare to go back to school. penn state fights back with a major lawsuit against the ncaa. plus, a member of the paparazzi killed after taking photos of justin bieber's white ferrari. you're watching "early today."

well, welcome back. some stories making news this morning. a lawsuit is being filed in federal court over sanctions

filed against penn state. pennsylvania governor tom corbett is suing the ncaa because part of the $60 million fine would be used to finance child abuse prevention grants outside of the state of pennsylvania. in alaska, no signs of a leak of that oil drilling ship that went aground near kodiak island. the rig is carrying 140,000 gallons of diesel and lube oil in hydraulic fluid. in los angeles, police say a celebrity photographer killed while shooting pictures of justin bieber's white ferrari sports car. bieber was not in the vehicle and the driver is not expected to be charged. and students who survived the december 7th shooting will be reunited with their teachers. the students will start classes in the new building tomorrow. now, here's an early look at one of your top health

headlines, if your new year's resolution includes healthy living, you might be better off losing the diet and go for holiday leftovers. a new study finds that extra weight can help you live longer. who are these people that do these studies? researchers say a little body fat makes the body more resilient during illness. thanks to congress, america's most successful earners will face their first major tax increase in 20 years. the budget did give stock markets around the globe a very positive boost from hong kong, india and britain. markets were all trading on the upside. back home, one of the first in the nation's single serve plastic water bottles are now being banned from being sold in concord, new hampshire. the biggest gambling hub in the world continues to get bigger. cass seinos in the towers are boasting about a record $38 million. if you want to advertise for

this year super bowl, you better hurry up. cbs has two spots left to sell. rates this year, staggering $3.8 million. that's only for 30 seconds. and good news for the auto industry. sales of new cars and trucks should break the 15 million mark according to polk. the reason, consumers having access to loans and lease details. marijuana club, mummers in full regular gallia. plus, a spectacular moment in the tournament of roses parade. you're watching "early today."

well, welcome back. other stories making news across america this morning. some folks in colorado kicked off the new year in their own hazy way. pot dens are beginning to pop up less than a month after the governor signed a law allowing recreational marijuana use. the new legislation does not allow public consumption which is paving the way for the new clubs. the mummers took their annual stroll in philadelphia decked out in color costumes. they put on a show for thousands along the parade routes. >> it's the first time they came down. their dad's in it for the first time. >> i think he's crazy. >> the mardi grasesque event is

over 100 years old. wetting nuptials and family reunions were among the festivities in the 124th rose pole parade. a man shocked his wife and child with a surprise reunion and a wedding on top of the love float. and finally, thousands of thrilled seekers took the dare to keep the new year's day tradition going. they charged the icy waters off coney island dressed in nothing more than their skivvies and bathing suits for the annual polar plunge. the temperature was in the 30s when the event began. well, new year's day college football. six big bowl games. let's take you to last night. the orange bowl, unfortunately, no cinderella story here, for northern illinois fans. pryor went for two touchdowns, as they beat them 30-10.

the rose bowl, the stanford's first win in the rose bowl in 30 years. to orlando, capital one bowl, georgia's aaron murray threw one, two, three, four, make that five touchdown passes to beat nebraska 45-31. to the outback bowl, what turned out to be the game of the day. 11 seconds left. wide over, south carolina's dylan thompson connected to a 32-yard touchdown pass to beat michigan. in the heart of dallas bowl, oklahoma state five touchdown passes and embarrassed the boilermakers 58-14. finally, northwestern won the first bowl game since 1958. that was the truman administration. the wildcats ended the longest losing streak with a 34-20 win over mississippi state. there's another college football game tonight. the sugar bowl in the superdome. new orleans, as number 3 ranked florida gators match up with

number 21 ranked entirely underdogs louisville cardinals. "early today" sports is brought to you by touch of gray. get rid of some gray, never all. just ahead, media mogul jay-z gets his gatsby on. plus, helping teens. plus, the big 2013 next. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." to give you a quick shot of your weather forecast as we go throughout the day face a cold cart. definitely gloves, hats, the winter gear just about everywhere in the country. as we go throughout the afternoon, no real highlights.

minneapolis. i mentioned there's a warming trend that will happen towards the weekend. not so much in thursday. not bad down there in florida, 82, miami, wouldn't that be nice. here's your doctor prescribed daily dose of kardashian pregnancy news. get used to it. according to e news, kim has been having a craving for suc s. asked whether she wants a boy or girl, kim replied to the politically correct i just want a healthy baby. jay-z will be creating a score for the film. the rappers music can be heard in the trailer for the film giving fans an idea of what we can expect. michael phelps is making news, he'll be diving back into the pool, the dating pool after he recently broke up with model reagan mossie. and finally 2013 is going to be a big year at the movies.

some notables include the prequel to "the wizard of oz." oz, the great and powerful. the newest attempt at a superman movie with man of steel. and a movie starring harrisonford in what will surely be a big pile of moneymaker, the hunger games catching fire. this coming from minneapolis, minnesota, where a bed rom makeover is helping a teen battle cancer. interior design crew worked their magic for jenna's parents, transforming the 15-year-old's cluttered room into a relaxing sanctuary. i'm bill karins. this is "early today." this your first stop of the day on your nbc stations.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. chancee still tracking a for precipitation across the metro area. there are some flurries out there. nothing to worry about. this is very light in nature. it is laid through southern delaware and to the lower half of the eastern shore-- it is light through southern delaware.

a bit of an icy mix to start the day. temperatures are looking a little colder. >> 4:57. >> crisis averted on capitol hill. >> a late-night vote and finally a deal. where do we go from here? >> a hotel sees more than its fair share of police activity on new year's day. >> we are expecting to return to normal on the area

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. >> good morning.